Pages

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

If you get a tax bill from the IRS, don’t ignore it. The longer you wait the
more interest and penalties you will have to pay. Here are six tips to help you
pay your tax debt and avoid extra charges:

1. Reply promptly. After tax season, the IRS
typically sends out millions of notices. Read it carefully and follow the
instructions. If you owe, the notice will tell you how much and give you a due
date. You should respond to the notice promptly and pay the bill to avoid
additional interest and penalties.

2. Pay online. Using an IRS
electronic payment method to pay your tax is quick, accurate and safe. You
also get a record of your payment. Options for electronic payments include:

Direct Pay and EFTPS are free services. If you pay by credit or debit card,
the payment processing company will charge a fee.

3. Apply online to make payments. If you are not
able to pay your tax in full, you may apply for an installment agreement. Most
people and some small businesses can apply using the Online
Payment Agreement Application on IRS.gov. If you are not able to apply
online, or you prefer to do so in writing, use Form
9465, Installment Agreement Request to apply. The best way to get the form
is on IRS.gov/forms.
You can download and print it at any time.

4. Check out a direct debit plan. A direct debit
installment agreement is the lower-cost hassle-free way to pay. The set-up fee
is less than half of the fee for other plans. The direct debit fee is $52
instead of the regular fee of $120. With a direct debit plan, you pay
automatically from your bank account on a day you set each month. There is no
need for you to write a check and make a trip to the post office. There are no
reminder notices from the IRS and no missed payments. For more see the Payment
Plans, Installment Agreements page on IRS.gov.

5. Pay by check or money order. Make your check
or money order payable to the U.S. Treasury. Be sure to include:

Your name, address and daytime phone number

Your Social Security number or employer ID number for
business taxes

The tax period and related tax form, such as “2014 Form
1040”

Mail it to the address listed on your notice. Do not send cash in the mail.

6. Consider an Offer in Compromise. With an Offer
in Compromise, or OIC, you may be able to settle your tax debt with the IRS
for less than the full amount you owe. An OIC may be an option if you are not
able to pay your tax in full. It may also apply if full payment will create a financial
hardship. Not everyone qualifies, so you should explore all other ways to pay
before submitting an OIC. To see if you may qualify and what a reasonable offer
might be, use the IRS
Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier tool.

If
you’re preparing for summer nuptials, make sure you do some tax planning as
well. A few steps taken now can make tax time easier next year. Here are some
tips from the IRS to help keep tax issues that may arise from your marriage to
a minimum:

Change
of name. All the names and Social
Security numbers on your tax return must match your Social Security
Administration records. If you change your name, report it to the SSA. To
do that, file Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card. The easiest
way for you to get the form is to download and print it on SSA.gov. You can
also call SSA at 800-772-1213 to order the form, or get it from your local
SSA office.

Change
tax withholding. When you get married, you
should consider a change of income tax withholding. To do that, give your
employer a new Form W-4,
Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate. The withholding rate for
married people is lower than for those who are single. Some married people
find that they do not have enough tax withheld at the married rate. For
example, this can happen if you and your spouse both work. Use the IRS Withholding Calculator
tool at IRS.gov to help you complete a new Form W-4. See Publication 505,
Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, for more information. You can get IRS
forms and publications on IRS.gov/forms at
any time.

Changes
in circumstances. If you receive advance
payments of the premium tax credit you should report changes in circumstances,
such as your marriage, to your Health Insurance Marketplace.
Other changes that you should report include a change in your income or
family size. Advance payments of the premium tax credit provide financial
assistance to help you pay for the insurance you buy through the Health
Insurance Marketplace. Reporting changes in circumstances will allow the
Marketplace to adjust your advance credit payments. This adjustment will
help you avoid getting a smaller refund or owing money that you did not
expect to owe on your federal tax return.

Change
of address. Let the IRS know if you move.
To do that, file Form 8822, Change
of Address, with the IRS. You should also notify the U.S. Postal Service.
You can change your address online at USPS.com, or
report the change at your local post office.

Change
in filing status. If you are married as of Dec.
31, that is your marital status for the entire year for tax purposes. You
and your spouse can choose to file your federal tax return jointly or
separately each year. It is a good idea to figure the tax both ways so you
can choose the status that results in the least tax.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

To mark the start of the hurricane season, the IRS urges you to make a plan
to keep your tax records safe. Plans made before a disaster strikes can help
you recover from the destruction left in its wake. The following tips can help
you make that plan:

Use Electronic Records. You may have
access to bank and other financial statements online. If so, your
statements are already securely stored there. You can also keep an
additional set of records electronically. One way is to scan tax records
and insurance policies onto an electronic format. You may want to download
important records to an external hard drive, USB flash drive or burn them
onto CD or DVD. Be sure you keep duplicates of your records in a safe
place. For example store them in a waterproof container away from the
originals. If a disaster strikes your home, it may also affect a wide
area. If that happens you may not be able to retrieve the records that are
stored in that area.

Document
Valuables.
Take photos or videos of the contents of your home or business. These
visual records can help you prove the value of your lost items. They may
help with insurance claims or casualty loss deductions on your tax return.
You should also store these in a safe place. For example, you might store
them with a friend or relative who lives out of the area.

Count on the IRS for
Help.
If you fall victim to a disaster, know that the IRS stands ready to help.
You can call the IRS disaster hotline at 866-562-5227 for special help
with disaster-related tax issues.

Get Copies of Prior Year
Tax Records. If you need a copy of your tax return you should file Form
4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return. The usual fee per copy is $50.
However, the IRS will waive this fee if you are a victim of a federally
declared disaster. If you just need information that shows most line items
from your tax return, you can call 1-800-908-9946 to request a free
transcript. You can also get it if you file Form 4506T-EZ,
Short Form Request for Individual Tax Return Transcript, or Form
4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return.

Visit IRS.gov for more information about disaster assistance. Click on
the “Disaster
Relief” link in the lower left section of the home page. You can also type
“disaster” in the search box. Get IRS tax forms and publications on IRS.gov/forms
at any time.

If an employer’s workforce exceeds 50 full-time employees for 120 days or
fewer during a calendar year, and the employees in excess of 50 who were
employed during that period of no more than 120 days were seasonal workers, the
employer is not considered an applicable large employer.

A seasonal worker for this purpose is an employee who performs labor or
services on a seasonal basis. For example, retail workers employed exclusively
during holiday seasons are seasonal workers.

The terms seasonal worker and seasonal employee are both used in the
employer shared responsibility provisions, but in two different contexts. Only
the term seasonal worker is relevant for determining whether an employer is an
applicable large employer subject to the employer
shared responsibility provisions. For this purpose, employers may
apply a reasonable, good faith interpretation of the term seasonal worker.

To learn more about this topic and about when the definition of a seasonal
employee is applicable, see our Questions
and Answers page.

Pageviews last month

About Me

I am a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, a Certified QuickBooks Consultant, an ATP (Accredited Tax Preparer), CPB (Certified Public Bookkeeper), and CPP (Certified Payroll Professional). I have over 25 years experience as an accountant.